[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cnn_8008.png]][[caption-width-right:350:[[{{slogans}} The Worldwide Leader in News]]]]->''"This is CNN."''-->--'''Creator/JamesEarlJones'''

Cable News Network, more commonly known as '''CNN''', is the first of the full-time American [[TwentyFourHourNewsNetworks cable news networks]]. In fact, it was one of the first cable networks, period. Founded in 1980 by Atlanta-based media mogul Ted Turner, CNN is now a subsidiary of Time Warner (the owners of the Creator/WarnerBros movie studio) and the world's second largest network (behind Creator/TheBBC).

When not reporting breaking news, CNN mostly features a plethora of talking heads, discussing the ramifications of said news. Whether the network is [[StrawmanNewsMedia unfairly biased]] toward Democrats or Republicans is a classic dispute. Enough people believe that CNN is biased toward one side or the other that its rivals, Creator/{{Fox News|Channel}} and {{MSNBC}}, have been quite successful in their overt attempt to pull away, respectively, more conservative and liberal viewers. Some (particularly [[Series/TheDailyShow Jon Stewart]]) have accused it of putting [[AttentionDeficitOohShiny a fast-paced feel]] with an overabundance of YetAnotherBabyPanda stories above serious discussion and investigative journalism.

Lately, to differentiate itself from its partisan rivals, CNN has been downplaying its ideologically charged, pundit-focused talk shows in favor of allegedly more sober reporting. This is best evidenced by the way that it cancelled the talk show ''Lou Dobbs Tonight'', which many people feel is the result of the controversy that the show had been garnering in recent years due to Dobbs' outspoken views regarding immigration, [[ConspiracyTheorist President Obama's citizenship, and the supposed "North American Union"]]. However, some of their straight news hosts have been accused of bias.

After Lou Dobbs left, CNN's lineup began transforming into a revolving door: Campbell Brown resigned, Rick Sanchez (who hosted ''Rick's List'', a WebTwoPointOh news program that [[PromotionToOpeningTitles used to just be an average hour]] of ''Newsroom'') was fired after controversial remarks on a radio show, ''State of the Union'' got downsized so John King could host a new weekday show, Eliot Parker left ''Parker Spitzer'' (which got downgraded to ''In the Arena'' before it got canned), Larry King retired (and was replaced by Piers Morgan), ''American Morning'' was split into ''Early Start'' and ''Starting Point'', and John King's show got cancelled in favor of Erin Burnett. The changes led to some of CNN's worst ratings in years.

In 2013, Jeff Zucker, who formally worked for NBC Universal, took over as the new network president. It only took him a few months before he began making major changes: Chris Cuomo was snatched from ABC to host the new morning show ''New Day'' with Kate Bolduan, Jake Tapper got a new afternoon show in mid-March, plans for a new 10:00 pm ET show were revealed, and their classic debate show ''Crossfire'' got UnCancelled. Zucker also brought back the "classic" ticker, and after years of "generic local news announcer guy", brought back JamesEarlJones and his famous StationIdent (alongside variants featuring various personalities).

TropeNamer/inspiration for AlphabetNewsNetwork.

The channel has a number of spinoffs and international versions:* '''CNN International''' airs mainly outside the United States with a few systems airing it in America, and has a reputation for featuring more news and fewer talking heads. Also in contrast to the American original, it also has the tagline ''Go without borders'' to emphasize its supposedly "global" view. It is the second most-watched news network in the world, behind [[Creator/TheBBC BBC World News]], its main competitor.* '''Creator/{{HLN}}''', formerly known as CNN Headline News, which once aired [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin just that]]. Every half hour would start with the top stories, followed by business stories. At 15 minutes they would quickly recap the top stories then cover sports, and at 25 minutes they would have a short human interest piece. Then it would start over again. Starting in 2005, however, it began to suffer from NetworkDecay, catering to news/current affairs talk shows (during primetime and late night/early morning hours), pop culture/celebrity reporting, live court cases, and MissingWhiteWomanSyndrome.* '''CNN Airport Network''', a channel seen only in airports, which shows mostly CNN rebroadcasts and looping weather and airport delay forecasts, but specifically [[ThisIsNoTimeToPanic removes all mention of stories]] such as plane crashes or other events which might make wary travelers panic before they get onto a plane, along with stories that [[ThinkOfTheChildren shouldn't be shown on a public channel with children around]]; when this happens, they quickly cut to a weather map.* Two Spanish-language channels:** '''CNN en Espaņol''', focusing on Latin American news but also seen in Spain.** '''[=CNN+=]''', a channel just for Spain.* '''CNN Türk''', the Turkish version of CNN. Notable for being CNN's first foreign version, and for being the first Turkish TV channel to be established in partnership with a foreign media company.* '''[=CNN-IBN=]''', the Indian version of CNN.* '''[=CNNj=]''', the Japanese version of CNN.* '''CNN Chile''', the Chilean version of CNN.

Former spinoffs include:* '''CNN Sports Illustrated''' or '''CNNSI''', their answer to {{ESPN}}'s ''{{SportsCenter}}'', which had the misfortune of coming into being around the same time as ESPNEWS (which was created as a TakeThat move by ESPN against their competition). After years of struggling for an audience and cable coverage, it went off the air in 2002.* '''CNN Italia''', the Italian version of CNN. It went off the air in 2003.* '''[=CNNfn=]''', their answer to CNBC. It encountered the same problems as CNNSI, and went off the air in 2004.* '''CNN Checkout Channel''', a version of the Airport Network, targeted at grocery stores; it wasn't successful and was only in operation from 1991 to 1993.----